What Is This Feeling?
by Zenappa
Summary: Sponsoring Pepperony Month! A set of one-shots, one per day through the month of September. Follow Tony and Pepper through the years, through the ups, through the downs, and create a better picture of the best couple ever! :D
1. First Encounter

**Author's Note: **Hello! :) Don't worry, I'm not starting another story. This is just some little tribute for the month to recognize my ultimate favorite couple ever: Pepperony! Yes, you heard me right, September is Pepperony month! :D What are you talking about? You might ask. Well, according to a Tumblr prompt, I am going to be writing a little one-shot celebrating their awesomeness. Want to take part? Here's the prompts for each day:

1 - First Encounter  
2 - Addictions  
3 - Dressing Up  
4 - Birthday  
5 - Love Triangle  
6 - Christmas  
7 - Saving the Day  
8 - Missing Scene from Iron Man  
9 - Missing Scene from Iron Man 2  
10 - Missing Scene from Avengers  
11 - Food Fight  
12 - Jealousy  
13 - Animals  
14 - Nightmares  
15 - Dreams  
16 - Phone Call  
17 - First Date  
18 - Death  
19 - April Fool's Day  
20 - Sick  
21 - I'm Done  
22 - Valentine's Day  
23 - Second Date  
24 - Flirting at Work  
25 - Sleepover  
26 - Secrets and Lies  
27 - Experiments  
28 - I Love You  
29 - Proposal  
30 - Wedding

I don't know about you, but I'm really excited for this :D Who needs school when you've got Pepperony? ;) Anyway, I'll be posting (hopefully) one one-shot a day every day for the month of September. Don't fear my friends, this won't take place instead of any of my other stories. Thanks guys! I love ya! Review please :D Oh and a special thanks to my wonderful beta **A Pirate By Any Other Name **:)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Iron Man or Avengers or anything Marvel related. Stan Lee took those rights from me ;)

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**What Is This Feeling?  
Chapter 1: First Encounter**

Tony knew she was the one from the moment she stepped into his office. He had looked over every single other damn wannabe assistant for the past two days. Some of them, he got to know on a more personal level as well. He had been rocketed to fame ever since his parents died eight years ago, and now that he was actually working, Obadiah insisted that he need an assistant. Tony was tired, and he was really looking forward to going home. He raised his file of the last woman appearing up to his eyes and peered at it curiously.

"Virginia Potts," he mumbled under his breath, testing out the name.

As Virginia entered the room however, Tony was all set for another round of disappointment. What he was actually hoping to get out of this last woman was someone to accompany him home tonight. He didn't know how wrong he was. Sighing, he put down the file and did a double take. This woman was different from the rest. He wasn't sure how, he wasn't sure why, but he was going to do his damn hardest to find out.

He cleared his throat before speaking loudly, "Virginia Potts, is it?"

Virginia nodded once, brushing her red-blonde hair out of her eyes. A strand had fallen loose from her ponytail and she blew it away stubbornly.

"Well that name won't do," Tony said, making a face. "It sounds like some sort of state."

"That's because it is."

Tony raised an eyebrow. Virginia was talking back to him? No other applicant had dared to do that before. Surprisingly, it didn't faze him like it should have. He was just genuinely surprised. "Really?" he commented. "Somewhere with country music? Down South?"

Virginia looked taken aback. Tony swept on, "Well I mean, you don't look like a Virginia."

"Well, that's my name," she replied softly, looking at the ground.

To be honest, Tony could tell that she wasn't one of those people who desperately needed a job and would do anything to work for one of the richest men alive. She looked like she didn't care whether Tony accepted her or not. And that sparked something in him.

He clapped his hands together, making a loud sound. Virginia looked up at him, frowning. "Well, I suppose we should get down to business," he responded after a moment's pause.

"And that would be?"

Tony ignored her, plucking up her file from where he flung it across the desk he was sitting at. He examined it for a minute, casually sneaking glances at the woman standing in front of him now and then. She was definitely different from the rest.

"Are you married?" he spoke after a moment's pause.

Virginia cocked her head to one side, "I beg your pardon?"

"Are you married?" Tony repeated his question. She shook her head, "Why do you need to know? This isn't a personal visit."

Tony smirked, "You are one feisty one Miss Potts. It was only a simple question."

"I'm - I'm sorry," she stammered, losing her focus for a minute. She turned away from his questioning stare and examined a fleck on the carpet.

Tony narrowed his eyes, "What happened?"

"What?"

Tony resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was only the first question for God's sake! Maybe she wasn't cut out for the job after all. "What happened between you and him?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes, "Me and who?" Tony could tell that he hit a mark however; her eyes were blazing with a mixture of sadness and anger, and her lips were pursed together like she was trying to hold back a sob.

"Your previous lover," he stated simply. "He left you, didn't he?"

Virginia looked up and suddenly, all traces of doubt had disappeared from her face. It was like the sun had broken through the clouds, and the shadows of sadness that had been hidden deep inside her before were just a figment of Tony's imagination. "He didn't leave me," she said at last. "He died."

Tony resisted the urge to slap himself. Had he just screwed things up for the one woman that he might enjoy as his assistant? "I'm sorry," he bowed his head at last. He stood up from his place at the desk and slowly walked over to her. "Why don't you come over to my place later and that will make you feel better."

She shook her head with a disgusted look on her face. "You know Mr. Stark," she began, not losing her cool air about her. "I applied for this job, opportunity if you will, because I thought you were different. I thought the media were just making up all these lies and scams just because they were jealous of you. You can never know what to trust anymore. I thought to myself, he's not that guy. He can't be. No human being is that selfish and conceited. But it seems like the media was right."

Virginia turned on her heels and clacked her way over to the door. Tony took a deep breath. Strike two. He had one more chance before he lost her completely.

"Wait," he called out, stopping her in her tracks. She paused with her hand over the doorknob, and Tony felt his insides burning. "I am sorry."

She spun around, "No you're not."

"You're right," he sighed, sauntering towards her carefully. "I'm not sorry that you came in this building. I'm not sorry that you applied for this job. I'm not sorry that fate brought us together."

"Well I am," Virginia snapped and opened the door.

Shit.

Tony was done for. He had lost the only possible assistant that he actually wouldn't mind having around. She could match his bantering and stand up to him without losing her ground. She was, in every way, perfect for the job. So why did he have to go and screw things up?

"Pepper," he shouted out. He squeezed his eyes shut and hoped that his last resort would work. There was dead silence for a moment; Tony took this to be a good sign, and he peeked open one eye.

Virginia stood there, back in the doorway, just looking at him. Her face was masked into some sort of emotion that Tony didn't understand but he didn't care. She was looking at him differently now and that's all that mattered to him.

"What did you say?" she questioned. "What did you call me?"

"Pepper," he repeated, more confident now. "You look like a Pepper to me. Red hair, freckles, tall and skinny. Yep, definitely a Pepper."

She took another couple of steps back towards him. "My parents used to call me that," she said softly. "How would you know that?"

Tony shrugged, "Lucky guess."

Virginia - Pepper - shook her head. She gave him a look and then sighed, as if asking anyone if she was about to make the right decision. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them back up, her eyes showing that same defiant look like when she first walked in. To be honest, Tony was happy to have that look back.

"So?" she questioned. "What's your answer going to be about me?"

Tony smirked, "Well since you talk back to me, won't have sex with me, are not willing jumping into my arms right now, begging for a job," he began. "I would say-"

He broke off for a moment, watching her face fall with what he hoped to be disappointment. He smiled, "Tomorrow morning at eight o'clock, be here sharp."

Pepper's face broke into a small smile, and she nodded once. "Will that be all Mr. Stark?" she questioned, testing out her new authority.

"That will be all Miss Potts," Tony said quietly as Pepper turned and walked out the door.

He collapsed back in his desk chair, pursing his lips and wondering what exactly had he got himself into. He picked up Pepper's file and looked it once more. He took a big black Sharpie marker from the cup on his desk and quickly uncapped it, turning his head to one side. Then, he drew a big black line over the name "Virginia" and scrawled above it…

"Pepper"


	2. Addictions

**Author's Note: **Day 2 is upon us :) I hope you all enjoyed yesterday's little one-shot. Sorry, it was shorter than I expected but still, I'm glad everyone enjoyed it all the same. Thank you to **Guest**, **Izzy**, **Pepperony Luver**, and **Zenappa Girl **for their reviews! And thank you to **airbenderfangirl27, akinnah, Deb Tiaki11, hayjayjay, jid-doi, lilyamongthorns, StarkObsessed, Toa Karou, ZielonaPlazma **and ** .it** for either following or favoriting or both! :D I really appreciate how many people love me ;) Just kidding, but seriously I really really do love hearing from you.

So enough of me babbling, onto the story! Here's Day 2: Addictions! Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **Sadly, none of this is mine. Well, the plot is but I don't think that counts XD even the prompts aren't mine. What is this world coming to? XD

* * *

**What Is This Feeling?  
Chapter 2: Addictions**

The first thing that Pepper heard when she walked in the door to Stark Mansion was a low grinding noise. She covered her ears and rolled her eyes. What the hell was Tony doing this time? She instantly picked up her BlackBerry and scrolled through Tony's emails, deleting a few. The grinding noise came again followed by a loud crashing noise. Pepper reluctantly looked up from what she was looking at on her phone, and she made a face. She carefully draped her long black coat over the armchair near the front door, frowning.

It had been almost a year since Tony had hired her to be his personal assistant, and yet she felt like she knew this man for much longer. She had since learned to deal with his "problems" as she liked to refer to them. The many women he invited over every other night, the bottles after bottles of beer, the late nights in the workshop downstairs, the talk of weapons over pizza from New York… It never stopped. But Pepper never regretted it for a moment. Her parents always questioned what was wrong with her, but she stuck to her guns and accepted the challenge. After all, Pepper never backed down from a challenge.

She checked a few more emails before she heard the sound again. She knew she had to check it out, but there were so many things she had to take care of. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed. Her conscious got the best of her, and slowly she clacked her way towards the stairs leading downstairs to Tony's workshop. She gently descended the steps and punched in the security code that opened the glass door to the workshop. To be honest, she wasn't exactly sure why Tony had a security code installed. Everyone knew the code anyway; Obadiah, Rhodey, herself… Just to name a few. And on top of it all, the workshop entrance was all glass! If anyone wanted to break in, all they would have to do is break the glass. She rolled her eyes. Typical Tony.

"Tony," she called hesitantly as the code blinked green. She pushed open the door and made a face. Tony's workshop was completely covered in bottles of beer.

She spotted him collapsed on the floor, on top of some instruments that she really didn't care to know. He wasn't completely passed out drunk yet, but he was getting there. Pepper knew it was only a matter of time.

"Anthony Stark!" she scolded, crossing her arms over her chest. "What have you been doing?"

"'Ello Pep," he slurred. "Howsit goin'?"

She knelt down, crouching next to the billionaire. She cocked her head to one side. "What are you doing Tony?" she questioned.

"Workin' on sumthin," he chuckled. "Weapons annnnnnnn shit."

Pepper raised an eyebrow, "Weapons and shit?" She got to her feet after realizing that Tony was okay, just drunk, like always. "Well then, care to share what shit you're talking about?"

"Not particularly," he managed to say straight. "Why do y'care?"

"Why do I care?" both eyebrows skyrocketed to her forehead this time. "Maybe it's because I'm the closest thing you have to a friend? Nah, that's not it. Is it because I don't want you dying of alcohol poisoning? Nope, that can't be it. You're right of course, why do I care?"

Tony's eyes rolled back in his head for a minute before he tried to get to his feet unsuccessfully. Pepper crossed her arms over her chest and watched him for a minute.

"Wanna help?" he smirked. Pepper shook her head, "Not particularly." She quoted his earlier statement and just stared down at him. He made a face in his assistant's direction which Pepper gladly returned. The thing was, he wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. Whatever message Pepper tried to get through his brain, he wouldn't get it, let alone carry it through until tomorrow. So what was the point anymore? She sighed. The point was she would never give up on him. No matter what, he was more than just her boss to her. He was a good friend when he wasn't drinking or sleeping around, he was there for her… well most of the time.

Tony didn't say anything more for a moment. He finally got himself into a sitting upright position and held a hand to his head. "Why the flying fuc-" he started to say but a stinging noise on his cheek made him recoil.

Pepper had just slapped him.

"Pepper," he said, suddenly sober for a moment. "What the hell was that?"

"You done yet?" she questioned. "Because I am." She turned on her heel and started to walk out the room. She rolled her eyes. She hoped he would bite.

"Pep!" he called from behind her. "Pepppperrrrrr! Wait a mo'."

Pepper froze in her tracks and slowly turned around. What was his problem today? It wasn't even three o'clock yet and he was already drunk off his ass. What happened to make him like this? She wasn't about to question his motives, not until tomorrow when he had a hangover to match the moon. She raised an eyebrow, waiting for the playboy to go on.

"Peppperrr," he got to his feet and stumbled towards her. "I hoped you wud join me."

She cocked her head to one side, "Excuse me?"

"Join me," he opened his arms wide and smiled. "Have a drink, or two, or three."

She rolled her eyes for what seemed like the billionth time today. "I don't think so," she said coldly. "What happened to you Tony?"

"I don' know missy," he answered quickly. "But I 'member getting' a telly phone call, an' everything is all fuzzy wuzzy."

"Something happened," she narrowed her eyes, "and I'm going to find out one way or another Tony."

He made another face in his assistant's direction. "Pep, 'm not gonna tell you."

"I'll just find out," Pepper smirked and stalked over to the nearest desk covered in papers. "Is it in this one?" She opened a file folder and skimmed through the contents.

Tony shook his head, "Pep, I wouldn' do 'hat."

A beeping noise sounded, and Pepper held up a finger. Tony cocked his head to one side and narrowed his eyes. Pepper reached in her back pocket and pulled out her BlackBerry. She quickly typed something and then looked up to see Tony examining her.

"Darlin' why are y'so attached to that 'hing?" slurred the billionaire.

Pepper continued typing out a message, trying to ignore the figure standing in front of her. But she couldn't concentrate now. She sighed, lowering the phone from her face. "I'm in charge of these things," she said, frowning. "Or don't you remember that either?"

"O'course I do, but yer more attached to that 'hing then you are to me. Can't youuu put it down for a mom'?"

Pepper shook her head, "It's not that simple."

Tony suddenly grew serious and Pepper developed a sense of growing dread. Maybe he wasn't as drunk as she thought… Oh shit.

"Is it?" he questioned, taking another step towards her. "You say 'hat but then you tell me that drinkin' is a problem. That I'm addicted."

"Because you are."

"Well then," Tony continued. "I pronounce you addicted to your celly phone."

Pepper raised an amused eyebrow, "Really? You think you can just do that?"

"Uh yeah," he replied as quickly as before. "Because I'm awesome."

Pepper chuckled to herself, shrugging his comments off. But the truth was, no matter how much she might deny the statements Tony made, he was right. In a strange drunken way. She was addicted to her BlackBerry.

She sighed, running her hands through her ponytail again. "Just clean up this mess Tony," she exhaled, before turning on her heels and heading out the workshop door.

If she only looked behind her, she would see Tony staring at her like she was a lost hope and smiling because he had finally won a battle with Pepper Potts.


	3. Dressing Up

**Author's Note: **Welcome back to Day 3 :D I hope you all enjoyed the first two days, I must say… They are just flying by. I'm really excited for this month now! This made it a billion times better… I was getting all depressed and shit from school but now - instant goodness XD Thank you again to my wonderful beta **A Pirate By Any Other Name**. Thanks to my reviewers: **fantasia-49, Zenappa Girl **and **Elisabpshady. **And thank you to those who followed or favorited: **deepseadolphin11, captainme, DowntownRuz7, tarzanpecosal, fantasia-49** and **Olivia McKinley.**

Here's Day 3! Dressing Up! Hmmm… I wonder what that could mean ;)

**Disclaimer: **For the billionth time, I do not own Avengers or Iron Man or anything Marvel. Trust me, if I did, these two would be doing more than just kissing if you know what I mean. *slaps* Dirty mind Zenappa, dirty mind.

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**What Is This Feeling?  
Chapter 3: Dressing Up**

It was Tony's least favorite holiday ever. Why was it even considered a holiday? It was just stupid and childish. The only thing he liked about it was having an excuse to throw a party and drink his ass off. Not that he needed an excuse to throw a party… But Pepper and Obie had been on his case lately and he was (trying unsuccessfully) to go on a booze hiatus. It seemed Pepper shared the gory details of his last drinking episode with his so-called "protector" and now, he had two people chewing him out. Lovely. He could barely even remember that night. All he could recall was a pure feeling running through his veins like he accomplished something. But what was that exactly? Whatever, it didn't matter. The past was the past, something to be forgotten anyway. He sighed, rubbing his temple as the noise outside accumulated. What the hell was going on?

"Tony?" came a soft voice in his thoughts. He groaned and sunk to the floor. He really didn't need this right now. His head burned and he couldn't think straight. He was going through withdrawals.

"Tony?" the voice became more frantic and worried. "Tony? Tony, where are you?"

He mumbled an inaudible response and the voice became louder and louder until it threatened to take over his existence. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

"Go away," he muttered, half to himself. "I don't need this now."

The voice didn't let up however, unfortunately. "Tony?" it was a woman's voice, vaguely familiar although Tony couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Tony? Oh my God, are you okay?" He shifted slightly, becoming uncomfortable. Something was shaking him now and he blinked open his eyes. He shot to his feet moments later after seeing Pepper's face five inches away from his own.

"Jesus!" he exclaimed, clutching his heart. "Pepper, don't scare me like that!"

His personal assistant gave him a disbelieving look, "Scare you? You scared me!"

"I was just resting my eyes," he protested.

Pepper huffed, "Of course you were. Are you sick? Are you hurt?" Tony shrugged her away, feeling a little bad but the feeling instantly went away after a moment. He held a hand to his head, bringing it down a moment later at Pepper's concerned look. He gave her a look that clearly said she was being ridiculous. She crossed her arms over her chest and just stared at him. God, he hated when she did that. It was like she could see right through him. Knowing Pepper, she probably could.

"I'm absolutely fine," he held his hands up in the air. "No drinks, no drugs, I'm fine." Pepper continued to look at him with those dagger eyes and he gave her one back. "Do you want to smell my breath or something?" he snapped, pushing past her and out the door.

Pepper followed him, much to his dismay, and he plopped down on the armchair in the family room. It was then that he got a good look at Pepper's outfit. She was wearing a long silver dress that went to the floor with a plunging neckline and a high back. Her heels matched the dress, sparkles and all, and her jewelry was probably all real diamonds. She didn't have her usual ponytail in either, her hair was hanging out perfectly straight with a bit of curl at the end. Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me you're going out too Miss…" he trailed off, obviously missing the point.

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Marilyn Monroe."

"Ah, I see."

"Come on Tony," Pepper said, quietly approaching him. "It's Halloween. You have to do something. You can't be just sitting here moping."

Tony made a face, "Well I wanted to have a party to get in the spirit but someone wouldn't let me." He put the emphasis on someone, causing Pepper to make another face at him.

"I'm just trying to protect you Tony."

Tony got to his feet and stalked over to her, "Well I don't need it."

Pepper matched his eye level in her heels and she stared him down. He challenged her to a glaring contest with his eyes. He lost. He blinked after a moment and looked down at the ground, coughing slightly.

"Besides," Pepper continued. "Your so-called party would be you parading around naked, trying to get every girl in the room to sleep with you. Tony's moments of pleasure, I'm sure."

"Isn't that what a party is all about?" he smirked. Pepper threw her hands up in the air. Tony didn't say a word as she turned away from him.

"Fine," she said after a moment. "Get drunk, have the best sex of your life, get shot in an alleyway. What do I care?"

Ouch. He cried, "Now wait a minute Pep! No one said anything about getting shot."

"Of course Mr. Stark," Pepper commented coldly. "That's all you care about, isn't it?"

He nodded once, and then rethought what he just said. Wait, what? "Hold the phone, what did you say before?"

Pepper rolled her eyes, "Have fun Tony." She opened the front door to the mansion and slammed it shut behind her. Double burn. Tony squinted his eyes and rubbed his forehead. This was going to be a long night.

"JARVIS?" he called out to the AI.

"Yes sir?" came the immediate response.

Tony pondered for a minute before questioning, "Where is Pepper going? And how long will it take to get there? Oh, and is there booze?"

"Miss Potts is on her way to a costume party held by the president of Disney Corporations in California, sir," JARVIS droned. "It takes approximately fifteen minutes to drive there and free alcohol will be provided for."

"Sounds like my kind of party," Tony smirked. "Well minus the Disney part. I've never been a fan of theme parks."

JARVIS replied, "Ever since the restraining order set against you in 2006?"

"I don't need the wise comments JARVIS, I swear Goofy was hiding some sort of crack in his ear."

"Whatever makes you happy, sir."

Tony made a face, "Remind me to update you with a non-sarcasm option."

"I will remind you, sir, when you get reminded that drinking doesn't solve problems."

"That's different," Tony responded instantly.

"Whatever you say, sir."

Tony walked stiffly into his bedroom and opened his wardrobe to face rows after rows of clothes. He searched through until he found the section of suits.

"JARVIS?" he questioned again. "Who's Marilyn Monroe's husband?"

JARVIS paused for a moment before answering hesitantly, "Sir, I'm afraid there is a long story behind all of this."

"Give me the first name listed," Tony said, obviously in a rush.

"Joe DiMaggio."

"Wonderful," Tony hissed. "Who the hell is he?"

JARVIS responded, "He was a baseball player, sir, with high credibility to fame and -"

"Did he wear a lot of suits?"

"I would say so, but wear a baseball cap, just in case."

Tony reached up and grabbed one off the top shelf. It was red with the words Stark Industries printed across in gold. Perfect. He plopped it on his head and headed into the bathroom to change.

"JARVIS, do you think Pepper will be surprised?" Tony questioned, hoping to cheer up his assistant. After all, he was going to a party. Hopefully, he would only have to talk to her once!

"I would say so, sir. You seem to have a fashion for showing up and ruining things."

"Mute."

JARVIS fell silent, and Tony made a face in the mirror. Hopefully, things were about to look up for him.

* * *

When Happy pulled up in the typical Stark limousine, Tony all but leaped out of the car. Happy lunged after him, missing him by that much.

"I wouldn't be so rash!" the driver called out after him.

Tony paused and slowly pivoted around, "Why not? I think I know what I'm doing."

"Last time you said that, we ended up driving off a cliff."

Tony rolled his eyes, "It wasn't a cliff, you're being overdramatic."

"It was on a mountain," protested Happy. "And the roads were slippery from the snow and ice, and we ended up falling like ten feet."

"Oh boo hoo," Tony made a face. "Everything turned out fine in the end."

"I had a broken collarbone."

Tony nodded slowly, "Maybe you should be more careful with your driving then." He shut the limo door and headed inside to join the rest of the party.

As he entered inside however, he was greeted with a totally different scene. Everyone in the room was completely decked out in all things Halloween. But it wasn't like a scary Halloween, it was a nice fluffy Halloween party. Tony wanted to puke.

He scanned the room before his eyes zeroed in on a woman with curled long hair and a long silver dress. Perfect. He headed over to her and tapped her on the shoulder reluctantly.

"I messed up Pepper," he explained before she turned around. "I'm sorry. I came here to apologize, and get the free booze of course, but seriously. I mean, look who I came as! I've had a change of heart which had absolutely nothing to do with the prospect of alcohol because I've been banned from that by someone. But what I guess I'm trying to say is -" He broke off as the woman turned around and Tony realized that it was not Pepper Potts.

The other woman raised an eyebrow and slapped him across the cheek. She had a thick Russian accent as she exclaimed, "I am not this woman you speak of. How dare you excuse me of zat!"

Tony held his hands in the air, "I'm sorry, my mistake. Although you do look pretty sexy in that dress, I must say. What do you say that you come home with me tonight and we'll see how sexy you look without that dress?" He waggled his eyebrows, expecting the woman to agree wholeheartedly. Instead, the woman slapped him across the other cheek and stomped away.

"Got any other brilliant ideas?" he mumbled to himself before he heard a soft voice behind him call out, "Tony?" He spun around, his lips pursed together in thought.

His eyes brightened, however, when they landed on the woman he was actually seeking. Pepper herself. Tony held his hands up in the air and his face obviously read 'I didn't do it.' Pepper narrowed her eyes.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, folding her arms over her chest.

Tony put on a wide smile which turned out to look more like a grimace, to his dismay. He shook his head, replying, "I don't know how much of that speech you heard but I came here to make it up to you."

"Make what up to me?"

"I was a jerk," Tony began, rubbing his hands together nervously. He never apologized before, and he was actually getting a bit nervous. "And -"

Pepper cut him off, "And what? You thought you could come over here and just woo me over and-and-" She lost her train of thought and stared down at the ground self-consciously. "I don't know what to say Tony."

"Just say that you forgive me," he pleaded, making a cute Tony puppy dog face.

Pepper let out a little laugh, "Don't make me laugh, I'm still mad at you." Tony shrugged, glad to see his assistant smile again. He missed that look on her before, and he was happy to see it return.

"So," Pepper broke the silence, releasing the tension from the room. "Who are you supposed to be?"

Tony adjusted his red ball cap with pride. "I'm your husband!" he announced proudly. Pepper smirked, and his smile instantly faded. "What?" he protested. "What did I do this time?"

"Thank you for trying Tony," she said.

"Of course Pep," he smirked. "Who could pass up the chance of free alcohol?" He paused, thinking over what she said earlier. "Wait trying?"

Pepper shook her head, "I should have known." Tony noted that she ignored his last statement begrudgingly.

"But I'm cut off remember?"

Pepper patted him on the shoulder, "Consider this your night off probation. Just please don't get drunk off your ass again and have kidney failure. The last thing I need is another funeral."

"Another? How many have you been to recently?"

"Maybe another day," Pepper stated before starting to walk away happily. Tony knew that he brightened her night and that was all that counted in his mind. Pepper paused for a moment, glancing over her shoulder with a silly smile on her face.

"You know," she commented at last. "Joe DiMaggio was Marilyn Monroe's first husband out of three."

She laughed at Tony's confused face as she sauntered away from him. The only thoughts running through Tony's head at that moment was a way to reprogram JARVIS.


	4. Birthdays

**Author's Note: **Day four looms ahead! :D How's everyone doing? I know today was a big day for going back to school… I went back myself and realized how much I missed summer already. Fml. But I don't think this year is going to be that bad, minus the AP Euro class I'm taking. Just kill me now… ANYWAY. Don't think I've abandoned you guys just because my life got busy again… I'm always here for you guys! Thank you to my wonderful beta **A Pirate By Any Other Name** once again, even though she protests that I don't need her. That is a complete and utter lie, I would die without this girl. Thank you to **Shipperony10, Miel14, Zenappa Girl, Izzy, Izabethy, Pepperony Luver** and **Lover Pepperony** for their reviews. And thanks to those who followed or favorite or both XD: **emilykay21, lfcsami, Shipperony10, Deb Tiaki 11, Colonel-LaLo** and **Miel14.**

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything D: It's sad I know but blame it all on Marvel, just don't go suing them or Disney might come after you. That's the last thing you want…

* * *

**What Is This Feeling?  
Chapter 4: Birthdays**

Pepper woke up with a growing dread. She wasn't exactly sure how or why but she knew that something was going to go wrong today. She slowly blinked open her ears and rolled over on her fluffy bed. Her alarm buzzed, and she hit the snooze button almost instantly. What was so wrong with today? After procrastinating for a few more minutes, she forced herself to clamber out of bed. She shook her head and took a quick shower, but things still didn't seem quite right. After putting on her usual smart dress wear for being Mr. Stark's personal assistant, she headed into the kitchen in her apartment, still feeling a bit lousy. She made herself a cup of coffee, sighing. What was the date anyhow?

With the coffee still brewing, she walked over to the calendar plastered on her fridge. Pepper narrowed her eyes at the date and saw, to her dismay, that there was a very good reason why her head already hurt.

It was Tony's birthday.

Pepper swore under her breath, a rare occasion, and banged her head against the fridge in frustration. Why hadn't she remembered sooner? She would've called for this day off. She peered at the date again, making sure she had it right. One could only hope. Unfortunately, Pepper had good eyesight and saw it perfectly fine the first time.

A bubbling noise from behind her made her jump, and she realized that she had forgotten all about the brewing coffee. It had now overflowed onto her stove and was currently dripping all over her tiled floor. Pepper didn't even move. She was too upset about missing the fact that it was Tony's birthday to even care about anything else. She sunk to her knees and propped herself back up with her body weight against the fridge. She was going to be a fun one today.

She quickly composed herself, mopped up the kitchen, screwed the coffee, and was almost out the door when her home phone rang. She sighed, trudging back inside to answer the darn thing. This was just not turning out to be her day…

"Hello?" she answered in the most bored tone any human being could possibly make.

There was a cackle of static and then dead silence. Pepper lifted the cordless phone away from her ear, frowning. What the heck? She placed it carefully back on the side of her head and repeated her earlier statement. There was still no one there. She shrugged, hanging up the phone. Almost as soon as she did however, the phone rang again.

"What the hell is going on?" she muttered under her breath before reluctantly picking it up again. This time, however, she didn't announce that she did. She didn't say any greeting or anything, just to discover who this really was. Another round of static betrayed her eardrums, but this time, she refused to move away.

Pepper rolled her eyes, "You know, I can hear you right?" This wasn't exactly true, but she needed to know who exactly was on the other line.

There was dead silence.

And then came a slow, drawn-out "Hellllooooooooooo?"

"Hi Tony," she sighed. "Happy birthday."

There was a cough and then another quiet response. It almost sounded like - No, Pepper couldn't think about that right now. She already had enough on her plate today. She really couldn't deal with any of Tony's pranks today. She didn't care if it was his birthday or last day on Earth, she just wanted the day to be over.

"This isn't Tony."

Pepper made a face into the phone, "Of course it's not. Tony, listen I'm not taking your crap today. I don't care if it's your birthday or not, but I'm coming over there right now. Just hang on okay?"

"But-" She didn't even wait for Tony to respond.

She slammed the phone down on the receiver before marching out the door. She supposed she should do something for her boss; he didn't deserve it but she was basically all he had. For his sake, she needed to be there for him. With that thought in mind, she made a quick pit-stop to the grocery store and picked up a small chocolate cake with mousse frosting. The only thing that would make it better was if he drowned it in alcohol, and he had enough drinks at his place to do that himself. Pepper only hoped she wasn't around when he did. She wanted him to enjoy his day with her, being appropriate and respectful. She laughed to herself. Well one could hope…

* * *

As she pulled into Stark Mansion, she was thoroughly confused. She walked in the door, frowning. She looked around but there was no sight of Tony. She placed the cake on the table and waited… and waited… and waited… But still, Tony Stark was not in the house.

About an hour later, Tony and Rhodey came sauntering in, laughing and talking about some meeting that they were just at. Pepper immediately stood up, staring at the two of them. They froze in the doorway as she stared at them.

"Happy birthday," she managed to choke out.

Tony gave a genuine smile, one of the firsts Pepper had seen in quite some time. "Thanks," he grinned. "Oh man, is this chocolate mousse cake?" Pepper gave a small nod, her head still reeling from the realization from before.

He instantly grabbed two bottles of wine and a couple of forks, diving in immediately. Rhodey laughed and nodded towards Pepper.

"How are you doing Pepper?" he asked politely.

Pepper shrugged, "Could be better, could be worse. Not complaining." She didn't want to say too much in case something slipped out.

"I could say the same," he smirked.

The two of them watched amusedly as Tony devoured most of his birthday cake. Pepper and Rhodey exchanged a few glances and the day was spent pretty much like that. Pepper actually admitted that she had a good time.

"Tony?" she questioned, after all of them had way too many glasses to drink.

"Mhm?"

Pepper made a cute frowning face, "Why did you call me earlier?"

Tony made an equally adorable face, only he was thinking hard. The alcohol was clouding his head, and to be honest, he couldn't really remember what happened an hour ago. Rhodey shook his head like he didn't have a clue.

"Sorry Pep," he shrugged. "Must have been a wrong number, wasn't me."

Pepper didn't respond. She just stood there, staring at him like he had just turned into an alien monster. Her mouth dropped open slightly, but she quickly closed it before anyone noticed. Rhodey and Tony got into another conversation about the latest technology in sports cars, and Pepper gladly tuned them out. This new information was mind-reeling. She had to discover the truth about that phone call, before it was too late.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Yep, the typical Zenappa cliffhanger emerges in this fic as well. Sorry for the shortness and the crappiness and the lateness but the moms is rushing me and screaming at me and I'm like HOLD ON WOMAN I'M WRITING XD So yeah, here we are. I promise, the next one will pick up where this one left off! I love ya all!


	5. Love Triangle

**Author's Note:** Second day of school and fifth day of this story! I'm sorry for the shortness again but I did leave you panting with a huge cliffhanger. Well, actually it was rather small but that doesn't matter. Zenappa's cliffhangers. I should start a business ;) In my personal life, I aced my AP Euro test today! Wooooooooooooo! So I'm in a good mood XD Thank you again to **A Pirate By Any Other Name** for betaing my life XD and thanks to **fantasia-49, A Pirate By Any Other Name, Zenappa Girl, Izzy, akinnah** and **Pepperony Luver** for their reviews. Also, thanks to those who followed or favorited: **Hawkerz, pianogirl3746, jellyamulet, Phlasa, AkimaDoll, **and **MaDo.**

**Playlist: **Extra Dry Extra Olives - Hans Zimmer (Iron Man), Extreme Ways - Moby, Safe and Sound -Taylor Swift, Bangarang - Shrillex

**Disclaimer: **Nothing is mine. I've said it before and I'm going to say it again. Marvel owns everything… I would normally come with some sort of wise comment here but I'm way too tired to even try. So insert your own caption here.

* * *

**What Is This Feeling?  
Chapter 5: The Love Triangle**

Tony noticed the sudden change in Pepper as soon as he stepped through that front door. The look on her face wasn't panicked and yet it wasn't exactly calm either. She seemed worried about something. Tony wasn't going to worry about it of course, it wasn't his problem. But he couldn't help but ponder what the matter was. He was nosy, and he was going to find out if it was the last thing he did. That was just the way Tony rolled.

He sighed, finishing his last piece of cake. Pepper and Rhodey were glancing at him amusedly and he rolled his eyes. It wasn't his problem. That seemed to be his motto lately, he realized. He wasn't really caring about much actually. It seemed to be his downfall in some cases… He wanted to slap himself a moment later however, he didn't have a downfall! He made a face and shook his head, snapping himself out of his reverie.

Tony was not a man to get hung up about this stuff.

He tried to convince himself that he was merely curious, of course. But there was still this gnawing sensation at the bottom of his stomach that wasn't sitting right. He was missing something, like usual, but this felt different from usual. This felt… wrong.

"Tony?" the woman in question asked, concern written on her face.

He shook his head, not really sure what was wrong with him. He had everything that a man could want! He had riches, fame, success, as many girls as he wanted, a large house, personal assistants and drivers, an AI that basically ran his life, and a happy friend in the military. What more could anyone ask for?

Rhodey chuckled, saving Tony from answering the red-haired assistant. "He's just realizing how much of the cake he ate," he laughed. "It's all coming back. His stomach's like exploding as we speak."

Tony glanced up from where he was staring at a mixture of Pepper and the table. Wait, why was he staring at Pepper? He was just curious about what happened to her… right?

"Oh shut it, the both of you," he said, cracking a small smile. "It was good cake."

Pepper grinned at him, patting her hair self-consciously. He noted her little habits lately and today were emerging some new ones. But… why? It all came down to that simple question. Why was she acting this way? Ever since he sauntered in the door earlier that morning, Pepper had been a little strange. She was looking around like she had an answer in her hand but she missed the question. It was hard to explain almost. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and that bothered him so much.

"Nah," Rhodey interrupted all of their thoughts. "He was just dreaming about which girl he was going to bed tonight."

Pepper's smile faded, and Tony smirked, his thoughts drifting away to what Rhodey was saying. Surprisingly, they didn't last long. He instantly flitted back to Pepper, who had gotten up looking white as a ghost. He frowned, getting up as well. Neither of them noticed Rhodey staring at them curiously.

"I have to go," whispered Pepper as she darted out the door.

The front door slammed shut and Tony flinched. What had he done this time? He turned to Rhodey who glanced at him confusedly. Tony narrowed his eyes.

"What the hell just happened?" Tony demanded.

Rhodey shrugged, slowly getting to his own feet. "How should I know?" he said. "I'm just the third wheel."

Tony took a deep breath, "Something's wrong with her and I'm going to do my damn hardest to find out what it was."

"Whatever suits you," Rhodey replied. "I personally think -"

"I know what you personally think, and it's bullshit. There's no way that's ever happening. Besides, that's not how we think of each other."

Rhodey raised an eyebrow, "Alright just name your first kid after me, alright?"

Tony smirked and followed his assistant out the door.

* * *

Pepper picked up the phone cautiously, checking the caller ID just to be sure. It said Unknown Name, Unknown Number, and she groaned. It was definitely him. She closed her eyes and literally just wanted to cry. She thought he was dead and now, she just wasn't sure anymore. It wasn't fair how she knew absolutely nothing anymore.

She picked up the phone and reluctantly hit Redial.

"Hello?" came a gruff voice and she melted. Tears sprung to her eyes as she heard his voice once again. A few threatened to fall down her face, and she held them back tentatively.

"Sam?" Pepper's voice came out in a squeak.

There was a pause and then came, "Pep?"

This time, she did melt. She sank to the once coffee-stained floor and heaved a sigh. It was definitely him. Tears poured down her face, and she buried her face in her hands.

"Sam, it's really you."

"It's really me," he whispered, his voice sounding velvety.

Pepper shook her head, "I've missed you so much."

Pepper didn't hear the door creak open or the footsteps that stalked in as someone else entered the house. She heaved another sigh, just at hearing his voice again.

Unfortunately for both of them, Tony only walked into the kitchen just in time to hear Pepper murmur into the phone, "I love you."

**Author's Note: **Wow, I hate this one. I'm so sorry. It sucks, it's short and I want to scrap this entire thing and start completely over. I'll continue this one again into tomorrow, making it a trilogy. I promise, this is a Pepperony fic. Things are not always as they seem. Review? XD Love ya!


	6. Saving the Day

**Author's Note:** Helllooooo friends! :) Day 6 is upon us. I'm terribly sorry about this stupid crap trilogy. I might go back and edit this another day because SCHOOL IS TAKING OVER MY LIFE. I hate it. I want out. Suggestions? ;) Thanks to my amazing beta **A Pirate By Any Other Name** once again :D love ya darling!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Avengers, er we're not really in that stage yet are we? I mean, Iron Man. Whoops, not there yet either. Almost, but not quite. I don't own anything Marvel does. How about that one? ;)

* * *

**What Is This Feeling?**

**Chapter 6: Saving the Day**

"I love you."

Tony froze in his spot in the kitchen doorframe, staring down at Pepper like he couldn't believe what he just heard. Was this the reason she was so upset earlier? He frowned and backed up a bit, hiding from her view. He pressed his ear against the wall, struggling to listen. He knew he shouldn't care, but then why was he here? Tony, when he was sober and in his right mind, actually wasn't a bad person! He was just underrated, if that even makes sense. He sighed, hoping he heard Pepper wrong.

"I can't believe you're back," she sobbed happily. "How long?"

There was a short pause before Pepper let out an involuntary laugh. Tony's blood chilled. That was never a good sign. That means she really liked this person on the phone... Pepper never mentioned anyone to him! She wasn't allowed to have a life! He huffed to himself and continued listening.

"Why haven't you contacted me sooner?" she questioned. "I'm sorry for the scare earlier, I thought you were my imbecile boss again, playing pranks on me once more."

Imbecile? Pranking? Tony was offended for a fraction of a second before shrugging. He had been called far worse.

Pepper exclaimed, "I've missed you so much!" There was a slight moment of silence on this end and then the red-haired woman swept on, "We all did Sam! You have to understand that! We thought you were-"

It seemed she was interrupted by this Sam character. Tony scrolled through his phone contacts, trying to find anyone with the name Sam anywhere near here. He was unsuccessful. He picked up his modified iPhone. He didn't like some of the features, including Siri. The store manager tried to show him what it is, but Tony wasn't having any of it. So he took the phone apart, installed JARVIS instead the Siri bitch, and voila! Tony Stark's own phone line!

"JARVIS?" he whispered into his phone, hoping Pepper couldn't hear him.

"Yes sir?" came the immediate response.

Tony pondered for a moment before asking, "Can you see who Pepper is talking to on the phone?"

"I'm afraid I cannot, sir," droned the AI. "I am not able to perform that feature from your mobile device."

"Well fix it!" Tony demanded angrily.

If JARVIS could sigh, that would be the moment to insert it in. "I'm afraid that's your duty," JARVIS replied. "After all, you were supposed to reprogram me a couple of months ago."

"Didn't I?"

"I regret to inform you that you have missed your appointment."

Tony rolled his eyes, "Oh shut it." He didn't ask JARVIS anything more for fear Pepper might hear or he might get some sarcasm comments that he really doesn't need.

He snapped the phone closed, accidentally making a loud noise, and flinched. He hoped Pepper was too preoccupied with her so-called boyfriend named Sam to care.

Tony's stomach burned, and he shook his head, wildly trying to clear his thoughts. It wasn't working. What was that sensation? It couldn't be jealousy... Could it?

Pepper's voice made him snap back to reality. Literally. She spoke, "Can we go for coffee soon? We need to catch up."

Tony frowned, this was worse than he originally imagined. He sighed, leaning his head against the wall. Why did everything bad happen to him?

"Friday okay?" her voice grew more excited and she sniffed, like she was holding back tears. Tony could almost hear the nod she was making before saying again, "I love you Sam."

He coughed once, not being able to take it anymore. Unfortunately, he wasn't as discreet as he thought he was. Pepper appeared warily in the doorway moments later, one hand still clutching the house phone and the other on her hip. Her eyes blazed with fury, but Tony just smirked at her.

"Sam?" Pepper barked in the phone. "I'm going to have to call you back."

Tony groaned inwardly. He was in for some deep shit now. He bit his lip self-consciously and willed himself not to stare at the floor. He was Tony Stark for crying out loud! He didn't act like this! What was wrong with him? Apparently, Pepper was thinking the same thing.

"What's wrong with you?" she snapped as soon as she stabbed the End button on the telephone.

Tony looked back at her calmly. "I'm not blind Pep," he explained cautiously. "I could see all morning that something wasn't right with you."

"Nothing is wrong with me!" Pepper snapped, feeling instantly guilty afterwards for shouting at him. IT wasn't his fault that her life just got mixed up. But he was eavesdropping on a private conversation! And he was being nosy and basically just broke into her house! She folded her arms over her chest and gave him a look that basically said he was in deep shit.

Tony sighed; he knew Pepper wouldn't take this lightly. He twiddled his phone around in his hands while trying to come up with a good response. None came. "Hold on," he said, pondering still. "I have a really great answer in my head, I just can't find it."

"You are really something Tony," she replied, shaking her head disapprovingly. "I cannot believe you would do something like that to me!"

Tony threw his hands up in the air, "Pepper, I care about you okay? You're like the only thing I have left."

That stunned Pepper right into silence. Tony did a silent cheer in his head. Wait what did he just say? He paused, trying to rethink what words had just come out of his mouth.

"You're the only thing I've got too, you know," responded Pepper.

Tony frowned. He had plenty of things in his life so why had he blurted that out? Pepper was just a friend, not even that! She was his assistant who basically ran his life. That was it, the line stopped there. But did he want it to? His inner voice was speaking again, and he quickly shoved it back down in the depths of his body to make sure it didn't come out again. He didn't like his conscience.

Tony sighed, "I'll just let you and your lover be then."

"What?" Pepper looked shocked for a moment.

"You don't have to play dumb Pep," he said. "Just tell me these things before they happen next time, okay?"

"Oh like you'd remember," she snapped, unable to help herself. He left himself open for that one. Tony flinched, throwing her a look. She paused, frowning, before realizing that she didn't deny whatever he was accusing her of before.

Tony raised an eyebrow, giving a tiny little smirk, before turning and heading towards the door. She sighed, knowing she would have to tell him sooner or later. "Tony wait!" she shouted after him, not exactly wanting him to leave for reasons she couldn't understand.

He paused in place, not turning around. He was merely just waiting for her to explain what happened to her all day and basically ruined his birthday. Okay, that was being a little overdramatic.

"He's my brother," she blurted out.

Tony frowned, spinning around. "What?" he questioned.

"He's my brother," whispered Pepper so low that Tony had to strain to hear her. "I thought he died in a car crash two years ago."

"Holy shit Pep -" Tony started to say but his red-haired assistant cut him off again. "Let me finish Tony before you start swearing and apologizing in your hidden ways," she gave a small smile.

Tony made a gesture of zipping his lips, and this time, Pepper couldn't control herself from letting out a tiny giggle.

"Two years ago," she began slowly. "My brother was killed in a hit and run in Nevada. The person that hit him was never found because my brother was the only one in the car. This all happened within a month of my fiancé dying of brain cancer. So naturally, I was low, I was depressed and I needed to get out of that state. So I picked myself up and looked for the job that was the most out-going and rash one I've seen in a while." She stopped, looking up from the speck on the ground. She dared to look up into Tony's eyes for a moment, before biting her lip but holding her gaze. "And that's where you came in."

"Jesus Christ Pepper," Tony breathed, not daring to move. "I didn't know."

"I know, I wanted to keep it that to myself. But I'm not involved with anyone, trust me Tony. You would be the first to know."

Tony coughed awkwardly, "Well good."

"And I'm sorry for not telling you sooner but believe me, it was for the better," she breathed, happy to get all of it out of her system.

"So he's not dead?" Tony raised an eyebrow, changing the subject away from dangerous waters.

Pepper shrugged, "I guess not. I thought it was you at first, playing another prank on me, but I guess you heard me say that earlier."

Tony nodded once, "I just don't want to see you get hurt Pep."

"And you won't."

Tony smiled down at Pepper before walking quietly out the door back to the mansion. He was glad everything was going to be okay with her.

But what Tony didn't know was that Pepper was still standing in the same position as Tony left her, one hand placed delicately over her chest, wondering why she couldn't stop her heart from racing.


	7. Christmas

**Author's Note: **Ello chums! How's everyone's Friday going? :D Mine is pretty darn spectacular! So yeah ;) thanks to my wonderful beta **A Pirate By Any Other Name** and to everyone who reviewed and followed or favorited!

Here comes Day 7! :D I hope you all enjoyed my mini trilogy I got going on there. Thanks for being awesome like always :)

**Playlist: **Up is Down - Hans Zimmer (Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End), More - Usher, Ronan - Taylor Swift, What is Love - Jennifer Lopez, Too Close - Alex Care

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Marvel or Avengers or Iron Man D: Poop nuggets. I keep hoping that with every day that passes, it might get more and more likely. But nope.

* * *

**What Is This Feeling?  
Chapter 7: Christmas**

"Close your eyes," came the soft soothing voice behind Pepper Potts. She gave a little giggle and obliged. She felt strong hands clamp over her eyes, and she bit her lip, willing herself not to smile. She felt her guide move her into the other room and freeze in place. She secretly wondered what was going on but her eyes physically wouldn't open, no matter how hard she tried. The hands left her eyes and she flung them open, gasping instantly. The room was completely decked out from head to top in Christmas galore. There was a giant Christmas tree that had to be at least fourteen feet tall standing in the center of the room surrounded by piles of presents. Pepper's hands flew to her mouth, clearly surprised. Banners and stockings were hanging from the fireplace and garland was strewn about the room. Her eyes darted from one section of the room to the next, not being able to take it all in at once. A smile crossed her face and she shook her head disbelievingly.

She spun around, the smile still evident on her face. She met eyes with the person accompanying her, and she strongly held her gaze, not looking away for quite some time.

"Merry Christmas Pepper," whispered Tony, taking her hands.

Pepper shook her head slightly, biting her lip shyly and looking at the ground. She still couldn't believe that all of this was for her. It wasn't like Tony at all! What was happening here? She looked back up at her boss and began to say something, but she never finished.

Tony grabbed her waist and pulled her close to him. She gasped in shock from the close contact between them, and she, startled, didn't know what was quite happening… until he leaned in and planted his lips directly on top of hers. Sparkles and shocks of electricity flowed through Pepper's body, and she couldn't quite stop it. Her mind was telling her that this was so wrong, but it felt so right. They were meant for each other.

This is, until Pepper woke up.

She flung herself upwards in bed, thinking about the very vivid dream she had just had. She sighed, taking a few deep breaths, before plopping back on her side on her bed. What was that dream even about? Pepper ran her hands through her hair in frustration. She couldn't do this.

But, a little voice inside of her told her, you can't help it. You can't help what you feel, something happened that's making you this way.

She told her inner voice to shut up but it wouldn't stop crowding her thoughts.

_You can't help that you love Tony._

With that, she flung the covers off her bed and sighed deeply. She hopped in the shower, contemplating what her dream really meant. It couldn't mean that she loved Tony. That just wasn't physically possible. They could never be together.

As she put on her work ready clothes and dried her hair, she (almost) had herself convinced that she had just had too many glasses of champagne at dinner yesterday. She didn't love Tony, she forced herself not to think like that.

"Stop it Pepper," she spoke to herself in the mirror. "You're being silly."

It wasn't until she got in her car that she realized what day it was. It was really Christmas.

Shit.

She almost slammed on the brakes in her car. How could she have completely forgotten? She continued to drive reluctantly, wondering what she could have done to forget something that easily. Her phone buzzed and she willed herself not to get it until she reached Tony's safely. She had even forgotten to set up her Bluetooth in her car when she got in! What was wrong with her today?

Pepper's mind crowded with a billion thoughts and she sighed a breath of relief as she pulled in the driveway of Tony's mansion. She instantly picked up her BlackBerry and started thumbing through her missed calls and messages. Most of them were from, ironically, Tony. She frowned and quickly dialed his number.

She placed the phone to her ear tentatively, waiting for his familiar voice to pick up the phone. It never came. She made a face, clambering out of her car and heading towards the back door. As she placed the key in the door however, she could hear slightly familiar music playing. It almost sounded like…. Christmas music? Now Pepper knew something must be wrong.

She threw open the door, expecting the worst. Instead, she came face to face to a Santa-hat wearing, Christmas tune humming, happy looking Tony Stark. She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest; what the hell was going on here? She stood there for a minute or two before coughing silently, announcing her presence.

Tony spun around, clearly not hearing her earlier for a surprised look crossed his face. He smiled at his assistant before going back to work on whatever he was doing.

"Merry Christmas Pep!" he shouted over his shoulder and continued to hum Frosty the Snowman as JARVIS blared it throughout the house.

Pepper's eyes grew wider as she took in the scene surrounding her. It wasn't exact but it was pretty darn close to whatever vision Tony had come up in her dream. She bit her lip to keep herself from gasping out loud. She needed to control herself before things got out of hand.

"What on Earth are you doing?" she managed to spit out, taking a step forward towards the Christmas tree in the center of the room. She fingered a few ornaments, noticing the ones that she gave him last year were put higher up on the tree. She wasn't exactly sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing…

Tony shrugged, hopping off the ladder he was standing on. "Decorating!" he exclaimed, opening his arms wide.

"I'm impressed," smirked Pepper. "I didn't know you had it in you. I thought you hated holidays."

Tony grinned, "I'm glad you enjoy my change of heart."

Pepper didn't respond; she just looked around the room, admiring the way he hung the streamers or garland way up on the ceiling. She smiled back at him, "Well after Halloween last year, I'm not sure if I could be any more impressed." She joked at him, causing him to look offended for a moment, before laughing right along with her.

"I was only trying to help!" he protested.

"And I get that, thank you," she murmured. "A helpful Tony is most likely a destructive Tony though. Right JARVIS?"

"Right you are Miss Potts," came the instant answer from the AI.

Pepper laughed as Tony threw the ceiling a dirty look. "I am reprogramming you for real this time," he snapped.

"Whatever you say, sir."

Pepper leaned against the wall for support as another bout of laughter consumed her. She didn't know how much Tony had trained JARVIS, it seemed that the AI had its own form of sarcasm. Electronic humor, almost.

"I think you've been showed up by a computer system," she managed to spit out in between her gasps for air.

Tony shrugged, "He's learned from the best."

"Sadly to say, sir, I have developed my own sense of humor," JARVIS responded.

Tony rolled his eyes, "Of course you did JARVIS. Who do you think taught you the term suck it?"

Pepper's mouth dropped open in a mixture of disgust and shock, and then she shrugged. It was Tony they were talking about after all. JARVIS was quick to reply, "That would be Mr. Rhodes, sir."

"Damn."

Pepper made a face, holding back tears of laughter. She hadn't chuckled this hard in a while. She was glad she came here, even if it was Christmas. She had to push her other feelings aside and concentrated on having a wonderful day, between friends of course.

The phone rang and Tony sprinted to get it. Pepper placed her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow. "Why didn't you pick up the phone when I called?" she demanded.

Tony shrugged, "I was too high up on the ladder to care. Lazy ass over here, remember?"

"Of course," said Pepper sarcastically. "How could I forget?"

Tony picked up the phone and made a face as he recognized the voice on the other line. "Go away Obie," he groaned. "It's Christmas."

Pepper strained to hear the other end of the conversation. Tony had the volume turned up a lot and she smirked, stepping a bit closer so she could hear.

"Happy Christmas to you too Tony," Obie said with a flat tone.

"Actually," interrupted Tony. "I believe the term is Merry Christmas."

"What are your plans for today? Go get smashed at another party? Break your personal goal of sleeping with twelve Playboy bunnies in one day?"

Pepper sighed. No matter what she wanted to believe, Tony still had two sides to him and the darker playboy side of him just didn't want to give up. She bit her lip and looked down at the floor, suddenly not wanting to hear the rest of this conversation. She didn't want to know what Tony actually had planned. Obie was probably right. Why she was even thinking that he would want to spend it with her was beyond her. She was just crazy.

She dug through her purse until she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a small wrapped present and placed it under the large Christmas tree cautiously. She didn't want to ruin Tony's display that he worked so hard on. As she was about to head out the door however, Tony re-entered the room.

"Hey!" he cried. "Where do you think you're going?"

Pepper shrugged, "I don't want to stop you from your Christmas plans."

Tony raised an eyebrow, "You heard that?"

"Your volume is up really high," she said matter of factly. "But no worries, I'll leave you be then."

Tony ran up to her, grabbing her arm. The electricity that sparked between them during Pepper's dream flowed again, but not quite as strongly. She closed her eyes and prayed that this was another dream. She couldn't afford to think like this.

"You didn't hear the end of my conversation," he explained, pulling his arm away suddenly. "I told Obie to piss off."

"What?"

Tony nodded once, "Yep. I have no plans today other than being with my favorite assistant."

Pepper gave a genuine smile this time and relaxed. Maybe Tony was changing after all. She sunk back into one of the couches in the room, letting out a sigh. She couldn't tell if it was of relief or nervousness. What was wrong with her? It was just another Christmas with her boss! Nothing had changed.

Tony grabbed a present from under the tree and placed it in Pepper's lab. "And this one's for you," he said with a smile.

"For me?" she raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. "You didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

She smiled and slowly started opening the carefully wrapped present. She wondered if Tony actually did all of this or he hired some help. It was the thought that counts, she reminded herself. But as she unwrapped the wrapping paper and opened the box, she gasped, her breath taken away. Inside was the most beautiful necklace Pepper had ever seen. It was a simple silver chain with two pendants at the bottom. One pendant was a small little gold heart and the other was a bigger silver heart, almost engulfing the smaller one.

"Oh my God Tony," she breathed. "It's beautiful."

He smiled an honest smile, one of the only times Pepper would see this, and nodded once. "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said. "It's you and me."

"Pardon?"

He pointed to the smaller gold heart, "That's me. I don't have much of a heart, but it's still there. I promise."

Pepper laughed a musical laugh, "It's moments like these where I'm reminded that you do actually have a heart."

"You wound me," Tony placed a hand over his chest and feigned surprise. Pepper chuckled as he pointed to the bigger silver heart, "And that's you. You have enough heart for the two of us so it makes up for it, I suppose."

Pepper turned to look at her boss, resisting the urge to just stand up and kiss him right then and there. She bit her lip shyly and glanced at the ground. This was probably the best gift anyone had ever given her. She shook her head, looking up from under her eyelashes.

"You really didn't have to do that," she whispered.

Tony's smile faded and his face grew serious. "I wanted to," added the billionaire.

They held each other's gaze for a moment, before Pepper coughed and got to her feet quickly. She sauntered over to the Christmas tree and plucked her present that she laid there earlier up. She held it out to Tony with a small smile growing on her face.

"I got something for you too," she admitted.

Tony cocked his head to one side. He made a face, "What is this?"

"You have to open it."

"Thank you Sherlock," Tony rolled his eyes and ripped open the paper. Pepper noticed how he didn't pay attention to the detailing in the paper but that was okay. Everyone was different.

As he pulled out her present from the box, his face grew confused for a moment before he let out a loud laugh. He turned to Pepper, "This is perfect Pep, thank you."

Pepper took a look at her own gift and couldn't help but laugh right along with the playboy. She had given him a model version of every single one of his cars. She had added in all of the dents and cracks. He winked, "Is that you've been spending so much time in my workshop?"

"Maybe," she flirted.

He pulled Pepper into an unexpected hug. "Thank you," Tony said earnestly. "Really, I love it."

"I had hoped," she murmured quietly.

A buzzing of her phone interrupted the moment passing between the two of them. She reached in the bottom of her purse and pulled out her BlackBerry, making a face in Tony's direction. It was a text from Obie.

"Pepper," it read. "Make sure Tony remembers about his presentation in Afghanistan next week. Very important. -Obie"

Pepper looked up at her boss, "Obie just wants to make sure that you're all set for your weapons presentation next week."

"Where is that again?" he raised an eyebrow, clearly not remembering at all.

Pepper rolled her eyes exasperatedly, "Middle East."

"Right," Tony snapped his fingers together. "The Jericho Missile."

"Sounds about right," nodded Pepper.

It had seemed like an innocent conversation at the time, but little did either of them know that the simple presentation in the Middle East would spark a turn of events to come.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Oooohhh ominous. What did you guys think? XD Good set up for Iron Man? Love? Like? Hate? Leave me a comment!


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